after your shot?

[Coasthunterjay]

How do you pay your respects the the deer you just shot? 

I usually like to do a little bit of what i call the happy dance followed by a round of high fives from me to my dad(My hunting partner) And then we sit there put our heads together and pray to God thanking him For making this wonderful world that he has created and allowing me to harvest the animal that has just ran in front of my bullet while i was target shooting......

[Broken Arrow]

I like to say a special prayer for giving me this opportunity. I to have have had a couple of times where i have been involved in some horrific deaths. Listening to some very unnerving Cries that were quite gut wrenching, and once i actually did the Nugent and sat with the animal and stroked its neck until it took its last breath (looking back i think how stupid as it could have gored me) buts that what youth does to you. Any how, every animal i take is special, and all though not religious....it is very spiritual and emotional for me.

[Dman]

 I generally am focused on getting the animal cleaned up and out of the woods until it is hanging and the work is done, though when I first knock it down and walk up to it I usually take a minute or two to admire the animal and reflect on the hunt. Not a religious person, but I think anyone who hunts reflects on and respects every animal they take -if their doing it for the right reason's. I have known people that don't show a natural regard for the game they've harvested and it's pretty poor in my opinion, either in the way they care for it afterwards,  or wasting the meat, etc.. My gramps engrained that in us, if we ever missed even a scrap of useable meat in the woods when we were kids first learning to hunt, he'd gripe us out until we wouldn't ever forget again.

[Cougeyes]

We take great care of our meat after we butcher it up in the field, we pack heafty game bags (thick pillow cases) and bone the meat out and make sure to not let it touch the ground because it'd just get full of dirt.  Back at camp we lay all the meat out on a bed sheet and let it cool off then piece by piece pick off the little hairs that got on it from cutting it up..  Saves a lot of time for the butcher and the quality is that much better of your finished product. I hate seeing people dragging an animal out whole and seeing all the dirt and crap that gets stuck to the animal, not to mention the hide is mostly rubbed off. 

[BLUEBULLS]

I usually sit down and have a moment of silence, wondering how i could have bumped my scope, or when my buddies adjusted the sight on my bow then i kick some rocks, go find them again and throw them the direction the animal went.

actually, i usually walk a couple of circles around whatever it is and think to myself "damn, the fun part is over" then I start thinking about who i'll invite over to share the heart.

[WDFW-SUX]

I mark where I was standing when I shot and the direction I shot then I go find where the critter was standing and look for blood then I start looking for it I really dont do anything else other than listen for the animal to fall down or the direction of branches breaking and such

[jstamp]

I usually shut the spot light off, go cut the head off, and run back to the truck and drink more beer  . No just kidding, I usually sit there and relax and then think about how to get it out of the hell hole I just shot it in.

[robodad]

Houndhunter, what do you suppose you would do in this case ?? 

[Houndhunter]

somthin like that i'd have to save to hang on my christmas tree!!

[jstamp]

I'm jealous 

[Houndhunter]

Jealous??

your crazy, i dont think i could handle 20lbs in between my legs. i can hardely handle the 10lbs in between them right now 

[jstamp]

 

Maybe I'm tougher than you...
It's not so much the weight that bothers me, it's the fact that it hits the ground every time I unzip.

[robodad]

 

[M_ray]

Ok back to the original question,
I do take a few minutes to take in the moment and also to give thanks to the animal and thanks for being able to feed my family ... then my ritual of breaking out the airplane bottle shot of Pendleton that I carry and I make all who hunt with me carry so we can have a snort before the work begins! 

[PacificNWhunter]

Usually I will just sit there for a minute and enjoy the moment. On occasion I have hooped and hollered but don't make a habit out of it.